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Rest the fence against the miter gauge and measure any offset required. The fence should be at least jointed on two adjacent sides. Clamp both ends of the fence to the tablesaw. Add braces, if necessary, for additional support. % Fence Final cove width Cove offset Optional fence braces Direction of feed in. thick by 3 in. wide and Clamps hold the fence to the saw table. Set the offset. If the cove does not reach the edge of the workpiece, this gap, known as the offset, must be allowed for when setting the fence. The distance is perpendicular from the fence to the edge of the front sawtooth. the cove from the edge of the workpiece. The offset is measured perpendicular from the fence to the closest blade tooth. least Symmetrical coves can be cut with one fence. It should be at in. thick, 3 in. wide, and 3 ft. to 4 ft. long, jointed on two ad- jacent edges. (If it is difficult to set a clamp on the front rail, clamp braces to an extension table, as shown above.) If your design leaves the workpiece thin above the apex of the cove, add a second fence behind the sawblade to support the workpiece as you bear down on it. The rear fence also lessens the chance of the wood splitting along the line of the apex. 3A Lower the blade to just below the table, noting how many turns of the handle this takes; as a backup, mark the final depth of the cove on the end of the workpiece. Make a dry run to practice the feed rate, to make sure the fence gives adequate guidance, and to check that none of the clamps is an obstruction. Cut in small bites, and feed slowly-The cut is made by passing the workpiece at an angle over the blade rather than straight into the cutting edge. This means that the blade teeth are in contact over the full arc of the cove and remove a considerable amount of wood; therefore, a cove must be cut in small increments, no more than about \i in. at a time. Also, you need to employ a slow feed Coving with different miter gauges There are two main variations in the graduations of a miter gauge: The first is the number of degrees that the fence of the gauge can swing through. Most gauges that come with a tablesaw can move through 120°, but some are restricted to 90°. Many aftermarket gauges can swing through 180°, making them ideal for this process. Instead of buying another gauge, a simple solution is to cut a wedge that, when placed in front of the gauge, extends the angle range. Thus, if your gauge travels only 60° each side, a 30° wedge will extend that range to 90°. The second variation is the different numbering methods of miter Ex.tend the range of angles. If your miter gauge has a limited range, cut a wedge, subtract that angle from the desired angle, and set the miter gauge to that angle. In this case, 75° is obtained by using a 30° wedge and setting the angle at 45°. 70 FIN E woo DWORKI NG gauges. On some gauges, the midpoint is 90°, with the numbering system extending to 30° on each side. On other gauges, the midpoint is at 0°, and the numbers extend to 60° on both sides. The spreadsheet program (see p. 72) will work with both types of miter gauges.